fbpx

Category Late Antiquity

Gotlandic picture stone from Stora Hammars I, in Lärbro parish, Sweden, displaying a Valknut and possibly depicting a Viking Age sacrifice.

Human Sacrifices and War Sacrifices in the Viking Age Scandinavia

Sacrifices have been common religious practices all around the world since prehistoric times. Nevertheless, there was an extensive and sometimes heated debate over whether medieval reports on sacrifices in the Viking Age, especially human sacrifices, refer to actual events or were fabricated reports to denigrate the pagan faiths.